Chapter Text
“You must run!”
That was the only explanation Victor Frankenstein had given you before he had all but dragged you away from his home, onto a ship and out to sea, drifting ever so far away from Geneva. It was only when you had left the shores of your childhood home behind that Victor began to give in to your demands and inform you of what exactly was going on; you had half the mind to throw him overboard for causing such distress, but ultimately decided against it as that would have left you stranded on a ship full of strangers with no idea of where you were going or how you would get back.
“You are in grave danger, my friend. My cursed beast is after you, demanding that I return you to his infernal grasp!”
“And your response to this was to kidnap me and ship me off to God knows where?!”
“It was not a kidnapping! I merely did what was necessary to save you!”
“You displaced me from my place of residence without my consent! A place, mind you, that you had imprisoned me in!”
“Once again, I only did what was necessary to guarantee your safety and survival! I could not bear to see one of my closest friends be ruined by my failure!”
“So that’s what this is about, is it? Your inability to see past your own failings? You clinging to some semblance of justice by treating me as if I am an object to be kept away from prying hands?”
“Then what else was I supposed to do, let that abominable mistake of science and nature take you? Where he would jail you up in the mountains and horde you like a dragon?”
“Perhapse if you had just talked to him…!”
“Talk? Talk!? And you expect the monster to listen?!”
“He is not a monster!”
“He kidnapped you!”
“And now, so have you!”
“I did it to keep you safe! He did it for selfish pleasure! There is a stark difference between acting on behalf of a friend who is mentally unstable and abducting the helpless for sick gain.”
“I am not some psychiatric patient, Victor, I do not need your help.”
“Clearly, you do.”
And with that, Victor Frankenstein left with an air of finality, leaving you to wallow in your own misery.
‘At least Adam didn’t coddle me and treat me like a liability. And actually listened to me….’
Once again, your mind drifted back to the gentle creature who had kept you company in the snowy Alps; if you had to choose your kidnapper, you would certainly prefer it to be the corpse-giant who would give you books and find you clothing to match your accommodations, as opposed to the arrogant scientist who staunchly believes in his own delusions. But alas, you were stuck in the middle of the ocean for the time being, thus you decided to occupy your mind with mundane tasks, like cloud watching, until you reached shore. Once there, you would figure out how to escape the paranoid clutches of your childhood friend now turned into your jailer, disappearing into the night at the first opportunity that presented itself.
And indeed, an opportunity did present itself to you, when you were three weeks into your impromptu journey half way across Europe (it turned out that the route Victor had taken you on was the same route he had taken in the original novel while on ‘holiday’ before creating the Creature’s bride). One night, when sleep had finally caught up to Victor after weeks of standing vigil at your door, you decided to take the chance and fled. With only a spare bag of clothes and your essentials, you were not even half way into the surrounding forest when a familiar voice greeted you.
“My beloved….”
Whipping your head around with what felt to you as the speed of light, you found yourself coming face to face with the glowing golden eyes of a man who was all wrong in the eyes of nature. A walking corpse, a patchwork giant, the being before you gave off the same eerie feeling of uncannyness as he did all that time ago, back when you had reached a tentative hand to an inquisitive new life, back when you had started it all and landed yourself in this horrendous mess.
“My salvation, you have returned to me.”
Adam reached out his hand as if to grab you, but paused his movements half way to your face, and drew in on himself as if he was afraid that his touch would harm you.
“I… should not.”
That was… new. In all honesty you were fully expecting to be whisked away into the night, being re-acquainted with your cottage in the Alps, or perhaps some other place that was far away from society; you were rather far from home, and Adam would surely not risk Victor reclaiming you any time soon by returning to where you originally were.
Curiosity getting the better of you, alongside sympathy for a creature who looked so broken in the moonlight, you decided to risk it.
“Adam? Is something wrong?”
“You are as benevolent as ever, my light. But no. Nothing is wrong. Or rather, everything is wrong. With you gone, I found myself falling into the all-encompassing darkness which became my lonely home. I found myself returning to the monster that I once was, a beast unworthy of sullying such a lovely soul as yourself, and I had forsook the very kindness that you had taught me.”
You waited for him to continue.
“I threatened Frankenstein that if he were not to return you I would rob him of his own joys, only to regret my actions once I regained a sense of clarity from the rage that threatened to turn me into a mindless beast. I found myself thinking: my beloved must hate me for this, for I have devolved back into the beast, the kidnapper, the jailer, and not the companion. Not the friend; not Adam. I could not bear it! Could not bear the thought that you would frown upon me and renounce your goodwill to me, yet I could not keep my wretched heart from aching for your presence ever the same.”
“And so you followed me?”
“I was on that ship. When Frankenstein took you from his home I followed through the shadows. I slipped in through the docks and onto the storage compartment, and have been trailing your journey ever since, for witnessing your complexion, even from afar, soothed the illness of my heart.”
You didn’t know whether you found that extremely creepy or insanely romantic.
“Yet the more I looked, the more I yearned. And the more I yearned, the more I felt unworthy to bask in your light. For how could a creature so vile as I, who served as your kidnapper and stalker ever be entitled to your forgiveness? Thus, I am giving you a choice, beloved one.”
Adam knelt down in front of you, one hand extended out as an offering for you to take, and pledged in a wavering voice.
“I am giving you freedom. Take my hand, and I shall take you away from Frankenstein and his mad ravings, find you a place where the mad scientist and his kin shall bother you no longer. You will be free to do as you wish, dress as you wish, be called as you wish; you need only be yourself.”
“And… the other option?”
“Ask me to be yours, an eternal companion, and I shall take you where no man would ever find you. We will have each other, and we shall languish in our very own Eden, free from the sins of humanity and their judgement; free to exist, as one.”
There was hope in his eyes as he said the last part, but Adam was quick to squash it, trying so hard not to get his hopes up and be demanding of you.
You now had a choice to make. And after some deliberation, sorting out your own mind and feelings for Adam, you had your answer.
If you chose to be free alone
“I wish to be free… alone. I’m sorry Adam, but I cannot give you the love which you desire.”
Understandably, Adam looked devastated at your rejection (he did just get his only hopes of companionship slaughtered, so it was an understandable reaction), but ultimately decided to honor his promise to you.
Within the month, you found yourself settled in a remote village in Eastern Europe, where the weather was pleasant and joy abundant with the easy-going townsfolk. A simple life full of freedom to choose who you wished to be, and you would not have had it any other way.
Sometimes, through the corner of your eyes, you would see a hulking shape between the shadows, but it quickly vanishes every time you try to call out to him. Still, you sometimes leave out fresh fruit or hand-crafted figurines for your protector in the shadows, and smile when it disappears the next day, with a wild flower in its place as a gift exchanged to you.
You live out your life happy and content, cherishing the bonds you forged along the way, forever cherished by the one being who was moved by a touch of kindness.
-END-
If you chose to go with Adam
“I wish to be free… together, with you, if you would allow me.”
The more you thought about it, the more this seemed to be the answer your heart craved. Adam had been nothing but loyal and gentle to you during your time together, and had taken time and effort to see and hear the real you, not blindly languish in the ideals perpetuated by a society that wished you were your dead father. Over time, you have grown to respect him, then befriend him, and finally, love him.
Yes indeed, you had fallen for the Creature just as much as he had fallen for you, for how could you not love such a gentle soul who saw nothing but the good in you. Adam’s confessions of true love had moved you, and you were willing to give him another chance, this time on your own accord (he clearly regretted the kidnapping and you yourself were curious to see what a relationship built on equal grounds would look like).
As soon as the words left your mouth, Adam positively beamed; for all his talk about how you were the light, your new forever-companion certainly looked like he would light the whole forest on fire with his eyes alone.
“Then let us make haste, beloved. Let us find paradise.”
And with that, your new life began. It was not a glorious life, nor was it a comfortable one, having to forage your own food and learn how to survive alongside the wildlife. But at the end of the day, you would not have had it any other way.
Adam became a devoted husband and life-companion, ensuring that all your needs were met, indulging in long literary and philosophical discussions as you once did on the Alps. In the end, you were with someone who loved you for you, who saw the light in being you when nobody else had, and you were eternally proud of having turned Frankenstein’s monster into your beloved husband. Truly, a touch of kindness goes a long way.
-END-